Walker Williams | Through the Shattered Lens

Truman York (David Soul), a painter who faked his death in a motorcycle accident five years earlier, reemerges because someone is selling forgeries of his work. When York turns up dead, a photographer (Mark Moses) is arrested for the crime. Luckily, the photographer went to college with Ken Malansky (William R. Moses) and Ken is able to convince Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to take the case. (If you’re going to get arrested for murder, it helps to be a friend of Ken or Perry’s.)

I was disappointed with this entry in the Perry Mason series. It had potential but it never really reached it. I was more interested in how the artist faked his death for five years instead of figuring out who killed him. Raymond Burr was obviously unwell when he shot this movie and there were times when it was painful to watch him as he had to learn against a wall just to be able to stay standing while delivering his lines. I felt bad for Burr watching this because, even though he was great in the role of Perry Mason, it was obvious that he was in pain.

Maybe because Raymond Burr couldn’t do as much as usual, Ken got to do more than usual in this installment. What’s strange is that the accused photographer was also interrogating people and looking for clues. He had just been released on bail and he was on trial for murder. He should have been laying low instead of tracking down witnesses.

I love the Perry Mason films and I have so many good memories of watching them with my aunt. This one didn’t do it for me.

Despite being asked to take the case by an old friend (Mason Adams), Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is reluctant to defend Johnny Sorrento (Michael Nader) in court. Johnny is a former gangster who has been credibly accused of murder in the past. Now, he’s on trial for killing his wife and not even Perry is totally convinced that he’s innocent.

Of the 18 Perry Mason films that I’ve watched so far, this was definitely the best. This is the first time that I’ve seen Perry defend someone who he both dislikes and, even more importantly, distrusts and Raymond Burr was really convincing whenever he got angry at Johnny. For once, the case wasn’t wrapped up as neatly as usual. Solving the murder of Johnny’s wife meant delving into a past murder and it uncovered a lot of dark secrets. The identity of the killer was a real surprise but there was a lot more going on than just solving the mystery of who killed Johnny’s wife. At the end of this movie, Perry looked like he was about to cry, no matter how much Della (Barbara Hale) tried to comfort him.

Sharing much more would be the same as spoiling all of the movie’s twists and turns so I’ll just repeat that this is the best of the Perry Mason movies that I’ve seen so far. The guest cast is great, especially Mason Adams and Paul Anka. The Perry Mason films always follow the same plot and sometimes, they can blend together but this one made a real impression and really took me by surprise.